WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama called Saturday for the Iranian government to refrain from violence and injustice against its own citizens .

Iranian women demonstrate Saturday in front of the White House , where President Obama issued a statement .

`` The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching , '' Obama said in a White House statement . `` We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost . We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people . ''

He said the United States stands with all who seek to exercise what he called the universal rights to assembly and free speech .

The statement came as Iranian security forces cracked down Saturday on demonstrators in Tehran in continuing protests against the outcome of Iran 's June 12 election . Watch protesters clash with government forces ''

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the overwhelming victor in voting that opposition groups called rigged . No independent monitors were permitted for the election , and protests against the outcome grew in succeeding days .

Thousands of protesters took to the streets Saturday , even though the demonstrations were banned and police confronted them with clubs , tear gas and water cannons . A threatening statement a day earlier by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had raised fears of bloodshed .

Obama received intelligence briefings and discussed the situation with senior advisers throughout the day , an administration official told CNN .

In his statement , Obama repeated a message from his recent speech to the Muslim world in Cairo , Egypt , that `` suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away . ''

`` The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government , '' Obama said in the statement .

`` If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community , it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent , not coercion . ''

Obama quoted slain U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 's statement that `` the arc of the moral universe is long , but it bends toward justice . ''

`` I believe that , '' Obama 's statement said . `` The international community believes that . And right now , we are bearing witness to the Iranian people 's belief in that truth , and we will continue to bear witness . ''

The statement was Obama 's strongest to date on the Iran situation . He has been criticized by Republicans in Congress for what they called his failure to strongly support the Iranian demonstrators .

Previously , Obama has said he was `` deeply troubled '' by the violent protests but he has avoided siding with Ahmadinejad 's opponents , telling reporters that `` it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran 's leaders will be . ''

`` It 's not productive , given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations , to be seen as meddling , the U.S. president meddling in Iranian elections , '' Obama said this week .

Diplomats credited Obama with having avoided giving the regime an excuse to blame the turmoil on the Americans .

Several diplomats told CNN that Iran is in `` unchartered territory '' and said this weekend 's events could determine the fate of the regime .

The diplomats said they were watching to see whether Iranian security forces would continue the crackdown . The military has shot people before but never in massive numbers , they said .

CNN 's Elise Labott contributed to this story .

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President issues statement calling on Iran to treat protesters justly

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Iran must `` govern through consent , not coercion , '' Obama statement says

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Statement is Obama 's strongest yet on post-election protests in Iran

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Republicans in Congress have criticized Obama 's reluctance to `` meddle ''